Class 60...

A two and a half week lay-off thanks to injury so a tentative but welcome return to class today.

The warm-up was based on technique, drilling a single-leg takedown, then doing some cardio work, then drilling the technique again. The key points to remember from the single leg from a sort of loose wrestler's clinch were everything happens on one side: so the left arm lifts the opponent's right arm up to create space for your body to drop down into position; then the left arm wraps around the back of the opponent's right knee and your left ear attaches to the belly of the opponent as your right arm pulls his left arm down to disrupt his balance before driving in.

We then did some work from half-guard.

The first exercise saw the man on the bottom up on his left hip with his hands controlling the opponent's right arm; the bottom man's right knee was pointing towards the opponent's face with his foot under the opponent's left armpit; the right leg then kicks up to create space and the man on the bottom drives forward to secure a right underhook with his right ear to the opponent's chest; the left grip collapses the opponent's right post arm to set up a sweep.

The second exercise saw the man on the top defend this attack by driving forward and securing his own right underhook and driving forward to flatten the opponent, before escaping the half-guard.

The final exercise involved the man on the top stepping over backwards and taking the opponent's knees with him, then pushing the knees down to achieve mount before escaping the half-guard. This was more complex than the previous two escapes but I sort of got it.

In sparring I was paired with a good blue belt and got tapped all over the place, then I was paired with a newish white belt who'd obviously done something before. He was very good and escaped some bad positions before tapping me with an armbar that I wasn't fast enough to stack and escape. The second time round I had him in a good position but I just ran out of time.

It was fab to be back, though. I even remembered some basics today as well, such as two arms in or two arms out, and connecting the knee to the elbow to create a barrier, or using my weight to drive into an opponent to secure position. It's slow but it is progress...

LESSON FROM TODAY: When in half-guard fight for an underhook to sweep or secure the opponent.